The Bodyguard’s Baby

by Debra Webb

  With a cup of strong coffee in his hand, Nick sat down at the table and pulled out his cellular phone. He hadn’t wanted to make this call until he was certain Laura wouldn’t hear. He punched in the number for information, then requested Ray’s home number. Less than two minutes later he was holding for his old friend, Detective Ray Ingle.

  “Hey buddyro, what’s up?” Ray quipped, sounding a great deal more relaxed than the last time Nick had spoken to him.

  “The easier question would be what’s not,” Nick told him with humor in his tone though he felt none at all.

  “I hear you’re hanging out in Mississippi for a week or two.”

  “Yeah, I just can’t seem to learn my lesson right the first time.” Nick compressed his lips into a thin line. Beating around the bush wasn’t going to make telling Ray what he had to tell him any easier.

  “Hell.” Ray laughed. “If you hang around down here long enough, maybe we’ll make a real Southern gentleman out of you yet.”

  Nick smiled in spite of himself. “Thanks, but I think I’ll stick with what I know best.”

  Silence waited between them for several long seconds.

  “What’s really up, man?” Ray ventured solemnly.

  Nick stretched his neck in an effort to chase away the tension building there. “There’s been a murder here in Bay Break.”

  “I see,” Ray answered much more calmly than Nick had anticipated.

  “Dr. Holland. Sometime this morning I think. His office has been trashed.”

  “Do the locals know yet?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Is there anything else I should know?” Ray asked pointedly. “I won’t even ask how you know all this.”

  “You may find Laura’s prints in there,” Nick admitted. “Hell, you’ll probably find mine, too.”

  “Anything else?”

  Nick hesitated only a second. “No.”

  Another long beat of silence passed.

  “What is it you want me to do?” Ray asked finally.

  “I know the locals will request a detective from your office to conduct the investigation.” Nick moistened his lips. “I need you to make sure we’re clean on this one.”

  “Are you?”

  “I wouldn’t ask if we weren’t.”

  “Does the Governor know about this?”

  “No,” Nick said quickly. “And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell him.”

  “What’s going on, Nick?”

  Nick heard the tension in Ray’s voice. “I just need some more time to figure this out. I don’t want Laura connected to anything that might muddy the waters.”

  “All right,” Ray agreed. “I’ll take care of it.”

  “Thanks, man,” Nick said. “You know if you ever need anything at all, I’ll be there for you.”

  “Don’t think I’ll forget it, slick,” Ray said frankly.

  “Let me know if you come up with any suspects,” Nick added before he could hang up.

  “Hey,” Ray blurted before the connection was cut.

  Nick pressed the phone back to his ear. “Yeah, Ray, I’m still here.”

  “What’s the deal with the kid?”

  Nick froze. Had James Ed told Ray about Laura’s claims of having a child. Maybe James Ed had Ray looking into the possibility. Nick shook his head. No way. Ray would have told him right up front.

  “What kid?” Nick asked slowly, reserving reaction.

  Ray made a sound of disbelief. “Hell man, the kid Laura had with her when I spotted her down there. What kid did you think I meant?”

  Nick’s chest constricted. “Laura had a child with her when you saw her?”

  “Yeah,” Ray said, confusion coloring his tone. “A baby, maybe a year or so old. You couldn’t miss him, he—”

  “Her child is missing,” Nick interrupted.

  “Missing? What do—”

  “Thanks, Ray,” Nick said quickly, cutting him off. “Gotta go. I’ll explain later.” Nick closed the phone and tossed it onto the table.

  He stood, the chair scraping across the floor in protest of his abrupt move. James Ed had definitely lied about Laura being in the hospital for the past eighteen months. She had been telling the truth all along. There really was a child.

  Laura’s child.

  And now Nick had the evidence he needed to prove it.

  Chapter Ten

  Laura woke with a start. It was dark outside. She had slept the afternoon away again. She licked her dry lips and swallowed, the effort required to do so seeming monumental. How could she have slept so long? The medication was no longer in her system. Exhaustion, she supposed. Sleep had brought blessed relief. She had been able to leave reality behind. To escape…

  Doc was dead.

  The memory hit like a tidal wave. Laura squeezed her eyes shut and resisted the urge to cry. She refused to cry. Crying would accomplish nothing. She had to do something.

  Doc was dead.

  The files were missing.

  Mrs. Mallory was gone.

  Mrs. Leeton had disappeared.

  Anyone who knew anything about Robby’s birth was no longer available to help Laura. There was no one. Desperation crashed in on her all over again.

  She would just have to help herself.

  She could do it.

  Nick would help her, but she wasn’t going to allow him to take that risk. Doc had tried to help her and he was dead.

  Laura clenched her teeth and forced her weary, grief-stricken mind to concentrate on forming a plan. If she could get her hands on a gun…

  Nick would need his gun to protect himself.

  Doc had a gun. She remembered seeing it on her first visit with Doc when she returned to Bay Break with Robby. Doc had shown her that he kept it loaded and in the drawer by his bed. If anyone showed up to cause trouble for Laura he knew how to use it, too, he had said. Doc loved her. When this nightmare started she had hoped that maybe he had Robby with him, hiding out somewhere.

  Another wave of fierce grief tore at Laura’s heart. But he was dead. Gone forever. The albino had killed him. James Ed’s henchman. Laura knew it as surely as she knew her own name. He would kill Nick, too, if he got in James Ed’s way. Laura would not permit that to happen.

  A sense of calm settled over Laura with the decision. It would be simple. All she had to do was take the car like she did this morning, drop by the clinic to get the gun, and head to Jackson. She would get the truth out of James Ed one way or another. Nick would never suspect that she would go back to her brother’s house. At least not until it was too late. But first, she had to escape Nick’s watchful eye. He would be monitoring her even more closely now.

  Throwing back the afghan, Laura sat up and pushed the hair from her face. She looked around the den. No Nick. Maybe he had decided to take a shower. She listened. Nothing. She didn’t smell food cooking either, so he probably wasn’t in the kitchen. But he wouldn’t be far away that was for sure.

  Laura pushed to her feet. She closed her eyes and waited for the dizziness to pass. She needed to eat, but couldn’t bring herself to even think of food. Her body was so weak. Laura took slow, deep breaths. When the walls had stopped spinning around her, she moved toward the kitchen. Though she rarely drank it, coffee would be good now. Laura shuffled into the hall and bumped straight into Nick. It was as if he had some sort of sixth sense about her. She smiled a secret smile. Except for this morning. She had definitely thrown him off balance then. Or maybe it was the lovemaking the night before. Warmth flowed instantly through Laura at the thought of making love with Nick.

  “Laura.” He smiled and brushed her cheek with gentle fingers. “I’ve been waiting for you to wake up. We need to talk, sweetheart.”

  The desire to tell Nick the truth about his son almost overwhelmed all else. She looked into those caring green eyes and remembered every detail of the way he had made love to her. The tenderness, the heat. The same as two years ago when she had fallen in love with this special man in
the first place. Nick was the most caring, giving person she had ever met. He was the only person since her parents had died who believed in her at all. He was nothing like her brother. He was unlike any man she had ever met. And she had to protect Nick. He would willingly die for her if it came down to it. Laura had to make sure that didn’t happen.

  Laura shook off the lingering doubts regarding what she was about to do. She had to do it for Nick. “What did you want to talk about,” she asked casually. Talking would give her time to devise a plan. She stilled. As long as he didn’t start pressuring her again about her baby’s father. God, if he suspected the truth for one minute…

  “Let’s go back into the den and get comfortable,” he suggested.

  For two long beats Laura could only stare into those caring jade depths. She loved this man so. The truth was going to forever change how he felt about her. Could she bear that? Finally, she nodded. “Okay.” She allowed Nick to usher her back into the den and to the sofa. She sat down obediently and sent up a silent prayer that he hadn’t figured things out yet. Laura knew she had to tell him eventually. Just not now. She couldn’t deal with anything else right now.

  Nick paced in a kind of circle for a moment as if he couldn’t decide how to begin. Laura swallowed hard. Surely he didn’t have bad news that he feared passing on to her. Laura closed her eyes for a second to calm herself. No, she couldn’t take more bad news at the moment. The image of Doc lying lifeless on the floor of his office flashed before her eyes.

  “I spoke with Detective Ingle this afternoon,” Nick began, jerking her splintered attention back to him.

  “Robby?” Terror snaked around Laura’s heart and she instantly slammed a mental door shut on her fears. She had to be strong. Otherwise she wouldn’t be able to find Robby or to lead the albino away from Nick.

  Nick paused a few feet away, his back turned to her he bowed his head. “I’m sorry, Laura, I should—”

  Shattering glass interrupted Nick’s words. Laura’s startled gaze darted to the window across the room. A gust of wind blew the curtains outward, they fluttered briefly then fell back into place. Fragments of glass littered the carpet. Laura frowned. She stood—

  Nick’s arms went around her and they hurtled to the floor, overturning the sofa table in the process. The telephone and lamp crashed to the floor. The dial tone buzzed from the dislodged receiver.

  Stunned, Laura lay against the carpet for a several seconds before she could think. Nick’s body covered her own, protecting her. “Nick, what’s going on?” she whispered hoarsely. The answer to her question struck her like a jolt of electricity. Her breath thinned in her lungs. Someone had shot through the window. Ice formed in Laura’s stomach. He was out there. He was shooting at them.

  “Nick!” Laura twisted her neck to an awkward angle to try and see his face. His eyes were closed, blood dripped down his forehead. She realized then that his full body weight was bearing down on her. Terror ignited within Laura. She pushed with all her might to roll herself and Nick over. She scrambled onto all fours and lowered her cheek to his face. He was breathing. Thank God. She quickly studied the injury that started an inch or so above his right eyebrow and disappeared into his hairline.

  Please don’t let him be hurt badly, she prayed.

  Laura’s hands shook as she traced the path the bullet had made with her fingers. Her lips trembled and she clamped down on her lower one to hold back the sobs twisting in her throat. Nick’s warm blood stained her fingers. The vision of Doc lying in a pool of blood reeled past her eyes. Laura forced away the vivid memory. She had to help Nick. She frowned at the large bump rising on the left side of his forehead, near that temple. Laura glanced at the overturned table and broken lamp. He must have hit his head on the way down. The bullet appeared to have only grazed his head. She prayed she was right about that. He was still breathing but out cold. Could there be internal damage? Renewed terror zipped through her.

  Laura shook him gently. “Nick. Nick, please wake up.”

  Laura’s chest tightened with a rush of panic. She had to get help. She crawled to the other side of the table and snatched up the receiver and uprighted the telephone’s base. Something cold and hard pressed to the back of her head.

  “Hang it up,” a coarse voice ordered.

  It was him. She knew that voice. In her panic to help Nick, Laura had completely forgotten that he was somewhere outside. Now, he was here.

  “Now,” he commanded harshly. “Or I’ll put another bullet in your boyfriend and finish him off.”

  Laura dropped the receiver onto its base and quickly stood. “He needs help,” Laura pleaded. “Just let me call for help and then I’ll do anything you want.”

  His weapon trained on her heart, the albino circled around her then glanced down at Nick. Laura gasped when he kicked Nick in the side.

  “Stop!” she shrieked.

  The albino grinned. “He’ll live.” He cocked one pale brow. “But he might not if you don’t do exactly as I say.”

  Laura grabbed control of herself. She nodded adamantly. “What do you want me to do?”

  He gestured toward the hall. “Outside, princess.”

  Laura led the way to the front door. She said one more silent prayer that Nick would be all right. Once outside, she turned to the man and asked, “What now?” Whatever it took to appease him and keep him away from Nick.

  He glanced around the dark yard as if trying to decide. “The barn,” he suggested. “Lots of imaginative possibilities in a barn.”

  Laura shuddered, but quickly composed herself. She needed calm. She needed to think. She had to think of a way to defend herself. If he killed her now, he might go back inside the house and kill Nick as well.

  “Let’s make this easy on the both of us,” the man murmured next to her ear as he ushered her in the direction of the barn. “I’m going to kill you, and you’re going to let me. Got that?”

  Laura’s eyes widened in fear, but she squashed the paralyzing emotion. She wracked her brain to remember what might be in the barn that could help her.

  “Got that?” he demanded, the gun boring into her skull.

  Laura nodded jerkily.

  “Good,” he acknowledged.

  The scent of hay and stored fuels filled Laura’s lungs as they entered the big double doors of the barn which stood partially open. No one ever bothered to close them, she remembered as if it mattered now. The albino made a halfhearted attempt at closing them. That effort would be to no avail Laura knew, the doors would only drift open again. They always did. But who would notice tonight?

  Nick. Tears streamed down Laura’s cheeks. She suddenly found herself praying that he didn’t wake up and come to her rescue. Maybe if he stayed in the house, this bastard would just leave after he did what James Ed had paid him to do. Laura trembled. She didn’t want to die. She wanted to be with her son, and she wanted to be with Nick.

  But her life meant nothing if either of them was hurt by this. Laura closed her eyes against the painful possibility. Her captor flipped a switch and a long fluorescent light blinked to life overhead. Laura blinked quickly, her frantic gaze searched for anything that might aid her escape. The light’s dim glow lit the center of the spacious barn, but the stalls remained in shadow. At one time, when she was a child, she remembered abruptly, there had been horses in this barn. But not anymore. Not in a long time. James Ed had gotten rid of what he had called an unnecessary nuisance.

  The albino shoved her to the floor. “Don’t move,” he warned as he surveyed their surroundings. A smile lifted one side of his grim mouth when his gaze lit on something in particular. Laura shifted to see what it was that had captured his attention.

  “Perfect,” he muttered. Keeping the rifle aimed at her chest and his gaze trained on Laura, he walked to the row of hooks lining one wall and took down a sturdy-looking rope coiled there. Rope in hand, he moved back to tower over her. Laura committed every detail of his appearance to memory. Ghostly white hair an
d skin, and those eerie pink eyes. He wasn’t very tall, but was solidly built. And strong, Laura remembered well. If she got away this time, she fully intended to be able to describe him to Nick.

  “One peep out of you and I’ll kill you now,” he warned as he fiddled with the rope. “Then I’ll kill lover boy just for the hell of it.”

  Not allowing his threat to frighten her further, Laura concentrated on his actions. Was he going to tie her up? She ordered the hysteria rising inside her to retreat, and her mind to focus. She had to escape. He was going to kill her this time, that was certain. The finality of that realization was oddly calming. Laura scanned her immediate surroundings for a weapon of some sort. A pitchfork stood on the wall farthest from her. She chewed her lip as she considered the distance. She would never be able to reach it before he shot her.

  This was hopeless. There was nothing she could do.

  Laura felt weak with regret. The thought that she would never see Nick or Robby again was a bone-deep ache.

  No! she told herself. She had to do something. She couldn’t just let him do this. She needed to get the albino talking. She had to stall him. At least it was some sort of plan. Maybe if she distracted him he would screw up somehow.

  “Why did you have to kill Doc?” she demanded, her voice harsher than she had intended.

  He cut his evil gaze to her and grinned. It was then that Laura noted the one thing about him that wasn’t white—his teeth. They were a hideous yellow. She shivered.

  “The old man was lucky once,” he informed her haughtily. “When I came for him, he had left town. He had himself a sudden personal emergency.” He laughed as if relishing Doc’s troubles. “His only living relative, a sister out in Arkansas, had herself a heart attack and died.”